Most Rugby World Cup Final Appearances
The Kiwis: New Zealand's rugby league warriors since 1907.
The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. The team's colours are black and white, with the dominant colour being black, and the players perform a haka before every match they play as a challenge to their opponents. The New Zealand Kiwis are currently second in the IRL World Rankings.
- Total Final Appearances
- 6
- World Cup Titles Won
- 3
- First Appearance Year
- 1987
- Most Recent Appearance Year
- 2023
- Win Rate in Finals
- 50.0
- Opponents Faced in Finals
- ['France', 'South Africa', 'Australia', 'England']
Lore & Background
A New Zealand side first played in a 1907 professional rugby tour which pre-dated the birth of rugby league football in the Southern Hemisphere, making it the second oldest national side after England. Since then the Kiwis have regularly competed in international competition, touring Europe and Australia throughout the 20th century. New Zealand have competed in every Rugby League World Cup since the first in 1954, reaching three consecutive tournament finals between 2000 and 2013. In 2008, New Zealand won the World Cup for the first time. They also contest the Baskerville Shield against England.
In Their Own Story
The stadium lights hummed with a low, electric tension as the final whistle approached. The scoreboard was tight, but the silence from the crowd was deafening. On the sideline, a veteran coach watched his players, their jerseys heavy with mud and sweat, knowing they had done it again—reached the summit once more. It wasn't just about winning; it was about surviving the gauntlet to stand there, in that hallowed ground, for the sixth time. The weight of history pressed down on the oval ball held by the fly-half, a silver fern stitched into the fabric of the game itself. In this moment, past and present merged: the ghosts of 1987, the heartbreak of 1995, and the glory of 2015 all converged. The referee raised his arm, time seemed to stop, and the All Blacks stood ready to add another chapter to a story that no other nation could claim.
Reader's Guide
The team is commonly known as the Kiwis. Their colours are black and white, with black dominant. They perform a haka before every match. Since the 1980s, most New Zealand representatives have been based overseas in the professional National Rugby League and Super League competitions. Before that, players were selected entirely from clubs in domestic New Zealand leagues.
Did You Know?
- New Zealand have competed in every Rugby League World Cup since the first in 1954.
- New Zealand reached three consecutive tournament finals between 2000 and 2013.
- In 2008, New Zealand won the World Cup for the first time.
More in Honours & Records
Elsewhere in the New Zealand All Blacks universe
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